Coming off of its best offensive performance of the season, the Tufts women's soccer team seemed primed to start off a four-game home stand with a victory over a reeling Brandeis team. But instead, the Jumbos walked off Kraft field yesterday with a frustrating 2-0 loss.
Brandeis came in on the heels of two straight one-goal losses, and had not beaten Tufts since 2004. The team's recent ineptitude dropped the Judges from No. 7 in the New England Regional Rankings to No. 9, allowing Tufts to assume its old spot at seventh. But the Jumbos, who split their two previous non-conference matchups this season, were unable to justify the rankings.
"We all came out of the game feeling like we could have, should have won," sophomore Laney Siegner said. "But sometimes it doesn't work out. We just need to reevaluate."
Though the Jumbos' offense looked lively early on, Brandeis struck the first blow in the 25th minute. Junior forward Tiffany Pacheco and sophomore midfielder Mimi Theodore, the Judges' two leading scorers, combined to push through what would stand as the winning goal. Pacheco sent a long shot from the right side that Tufts senior goalkeeper Kate Minnehan batted away directly to the waiting feet of Theodore, who rocketed it into the back of the net.
Tufts had its fair share of opportunities to equalize the game in both halves. With just over six minutes remaining in the first half, sophomore Alix Michael dribbled through the Brandeis defense and found classmate Jamie Love-Nichols, whose shot hit the left post.
It was not the only chance at the end of the half for Tufts, as Brandeis' senior goalkeeper Hilary Rosenzweig made a stop on junior Bailey Morgan's low shot in the final minute.
"Hitting the post is a frustrating part of the game," Michael said. "Instead of getting down, we just tried to keep pushing through. That is an aspect of the game you just have to learn to deal with."
The Jumbos threatened to knot the game once more in the 57th minute when junior defender Sarah Nolet drilled a shot from outside the box at the Judges' net. But the pipes denied Tufts once again as the blast ricocheted off the crossbar In all, Tufts managed just four second-half shots in its bid to tie the game.
"I don't think the shots were a very good indication of the flow of the game," Michael said. "We definitely had more opportunities than the shots would indicate. Their defense hunkered down and we couldn't get it in the back of the net. Sometimes it just doesn't happen."
"Obviously we got a little unlucky hitting the post and the crossbar, but that's soccer. Sometimes the best team doesn't always win, and that has been happening to us lately," Siegner added.
Brandeis put the game away with five minutes remaining, again in large part thanks to Theodore. The second-year helped orchestrate a run through the Tufts defense and found junior Sofia Vallone, whose shot from the 18-yard mark found the lower left corner of the Tufts net, pushing the final margin to 2-0.
The loss dropped the Jumbos back to .500 ahead of what very well could be the biggest stretch of the squad's season. Tufts will play three NESCAC games in a span of seven days beginning with tomorrow's homecoming clash against Colby. With all three contests at home, the Jumbos know that this is the time to solidify a spot in the top of the NESCAC standings, in which they currently rank fourth.
"Basically at practice [yesterday] no one was thinking about [Wednesday's game]," Siegner said. "Everyone was looking to Saturday ... This is our chance to make a statement and win three games in a row — which we have not done this season — and solidify our place in the NESCAC."
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